D is for Dance
by timetraveler03
Summary: D is for Dirty: a word that was associated with the Malfoys these days. Dirty dealings, dirty history, dirty blood, and dirt poor. Scorpius is a boy who hides his face behind dirt blonde hair. Nobody knows what he looks like. But when he chooses to attend Hogwart's new division- a sister school in the west wing of the castle- along with Rose Weasley, things might change a little.
1. The 'Dirty' Dancer

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing! :)

Dirty was a word that was associated with the Malfoys these days. Dirty dealings, dirty history, dirty blood, and dirt poor. Scorpius is a boy who hides his face behind dirt blonde hair. Nobody knows what he looks like. They don't know he loves breakdancing and ballet and watching Quadpot, and they don't know that in reality, he is quite hygienic… But when he chooses to attend Hogwart's relatively new division- a sister school in the west wing of the castle- along with Rose Weasley, who loves science and judo, things might change a little bit.

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><p>Scorpius Malfoy was born and raised in the wizarding community of Colling Cauldron, Massachussetts. The Malfoys lived on the edge of town, in a tiny apartment with one bedroom, one bathroom, no electricity, and no running water. Although Astoria had been a good student and a proficient witch, their house had a magical ban on it. Draco did not even have a wand, and the family was constantly monitored by the American Ministry of Magic. So, due to these circumstances, Scorpius grew up in a house that was too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. All of his clothes came from the muggle dollar store, and the family mainly ate small, shriveled vegetables from the tiny windowsill garden with cheap snacks from the local muggle super mart. All of their money had gone to the repair of wizarding facilities in England after the war. All of their lands had been confiscated. Malfoy Manor was a history museum, with all of the original belongings still there. Although Draco and Narcissa had been pardoned due to Narcissa's imperative role in saving Harry Potter and Draco's young age and status as a relative bystander, they were isolated and hated. The fellow members of their town, who had been relatively unaffected by the war in Europe, shunned them and regarded them suspiciously. It was a lonely, yet arguably well deserved punishment.<p>

During summer in the cramped apartment, the windows were always flung uncomfortably open to allow light to enter, except on rainy days. Draco didn't like it- it made him feel exposed and the sun was unnaturally bright on his pale skin. Narcissa slept on the single bed that they had; Draco and Astoria had an inflatable mattress and Scorpius had the couch. It wasn't ideal, but for a family deeply imbued in debt, with all valuable belongings stripped from their possession, and living in an unfamiliar country, they couldn't complain.

Draco and Astoria were not happy. Well, they were very much in love and they weren't dying (although in the winter, it sometimes felt like it…). But they were worried all of the time. They knew that Scorpius was a wizard- he had shown the signs quite early on. They also knew that he had never had a friend outside of his family and was shunned by the other children of the village. This was America, a haven from the anger of the british community that still lived on. If Scorpius was to attend Hogwarts, like his parents dreamed he would, he would be isolated, and possibly bullied. If he stayed in the states, he would not have access to the great education offered overseas- in America, magical schooling was done after school at small academies for a few hours a day during the week. It was also less important- 80% of american witches and wizards integrated with the muggle community once they had learned to control their magic- the muggle community had much more to offer. Being of old pureblood families with roots in Britain, neither parent could bear the thought of Scorpius living as a muggle and ignoring his magical gifts for the rest of his life. However, with a name like Malfoy, he might not even be accepted into Hogwarts.

"How about Scorpius Greengrass?", they suggested time and time again, encouraging Scorpius to take his mother's maiden name. The Greengrasses had not taken sides during the war and were not despised like many other similar families. However, Scorpius protested that he was already too used to his own name. He didn't want another one.

Eventually, when Scorpius turned five, his parents reluctantly sent him to a muggle primary school for he was denied admission to Colling Cauldron's Wizard Preschool. Scorpius began to make a few friends, though he was occasionally teased for the state of his clothes and the second hand school supplies that his mother bought from the school section of the thrift shop. His mother and father would end their shifts at the local diner and gas station, respectively (a Hogwarts diploma sadly did not give you a good muggle job), and then one of them would pick up Scorpius and they would walk 2 miles to their tiny, falling apart apartment. Every day, they would pass "Die or Dance", a small yet nice dance studio in the muggle town in which the school was located. Scorpius would always stop and press his face against the glass, watching dancers warm up and practice, before being tugged along by the designated parent.

This continued until he was nine. By this time, his parents were working longer hours to try to alleviate even a tiny bit of debt. Scorpius walked home by himself, for it was a safe community and he was a careful and quiet child. Finally, one day, as he was walking home, he stopped by the window to find a lady staring right back at him. She made a stop motion with her hand, and then came outside to talk to him.

"You've been doing this every day for 4 years. Why?", she was blunt and serious, but Scorpius didn't flinch. "I… like it", he said softly. "Well, you could always watch inside."

So, Scorpius began stopping by the studio after school every day. He learned that the woman's name was Linda. At first, he intended to merely watch quietly, but Linda surprised him by dragging him into discussions and asking his opinions on dancers. He watched, wide-eyed, every day… and then days turned into months… And then watching turned into free lessons. He initially didn't want to accept them, so he swore to repay Linda someday. It was ballet at first. Scorpius' parents wondered why he was so exhausted when he came home from school, but they were a little too preoccupied to worry about it. Later, when they found out, they didn't have the energy to disapprove. Then, along with ballet, he started hip hop. Then jazz. Then tap. And finally, the day after he got his letter emblazoned with the letter 'H', he was accepted into the breakdancing class.

He told Linda that he was going overseas to boarding school, but that he would keep practicing and return during the summer. She cried a little bit, then threatened him, saying that he had better come back because he owed her for 3 years of lessons.

Scorpius left Massachusetts with a heavy heart. He sat in an empty compartment on the train, armed with his cousin Elric's old school supplies and robes and a wand with a tracker/limiter placed on it. The wand didn't choose the wizard, it was issued to him by the British Ministry of Magic.

Upon his arrival, he stayed as silent as the Great Hall was when they called his name. He slowly sat down on the chair, and as the sorting hate came down on his head, he felt a sense of emptiness. The hat was silent for a long time. He wondered if it was working, until he heard it say, quite loudly, for all to hear, "Well… you aren't a slytherin. You're not a gryffindor. Scorpius Malfoy, what do you think of Black and Yellow?" "The song?", he asked, but his soft voice was drowned out by the hat's cry of, "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Needless to say, Scorpius was alienated by his housemates. He was alienated by his classmates. He achieved mediocre grades and was quiet all of the time. He never hung out with anyone or went to any quidditch matches (he preferred American Quadpot, which was all the rage in Colling Cauldron). He simply went to empty classrooms, stretched, opened up his letters from Linda, which his parents had forwarded him, and practiced the latest exercise or moves. Ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop… They stopped him from being lonely, though his parents cried over every letter that arrived by school owl- no friends were ever mentioned.

When he returned for summer, he began to learn break dancing. Every day was spent dancing. And thats how it continued for the next three years. Scorpius never cut his hair to hide his face, because he didn't like the stares he got. Teachers didn't care that it wasn't allowed because they didn't care about him. Eventually, his hair was past his chin in all directions- you could not see his face and people wondered if he could see at all. They wondered if he was disfigured, if his eyes were red, if he looked just like Draco, if he had "VOLDEMORT" tattooed on his face… The hair was only tied back when he was home or at the studio- a short and thin pony tail that made the attractive features inherited from his mum (which elated his family, who wanted him to look as different from Draco as possible) look strange and classless.

"Scott, I don't know why you keep your hair like that- you are such a good looking boy!", Linda would protest to him as he chilled behind the cash register (a part time job). He laughed it off of course. He might have confidence and comfort inside of Die or Dance, but outside, he couldn't handle the pressure of a thousand stares.

Scorpius intended to be normal. But, at the end of his third year, where the choice was given, he made a choice even he didn't believe.

Hogwarts? or Hogwarts School for the Modern Age Magician (dubbed "WestWing")?

70% of students chose Hogwarts. The other 30% were mainly muggleborn- they would go to muggle university with a diploma from WestWing Academy and take muggle jobs. WestWing's classes included Algebra, Geometry, Calculus, Ancient Muggle History, Muggle War History, Muggle Studies, English Literature, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Foreign Language, and more. Wizarding classes like transfiguration only took place once a week. WestWing also had a football team (soccer for americans), a tennis team, a golf team, a cricket team, and a fine arts program. Dance was included in this program. It wasn't what his family wanted. It wasn't what was expected of him. But as if against his own made up mind, he circled the latter. The West Wing of the school was to be his new beginning, even if he didn't know it.

And this is where the story _really_ begins. Scorpius Malfoy, age 15. He is a dancer, antisocial, and a dirty stain on Hogwarts.


	2. He's Sorry to Astoria

Thank you so much for following/reviewing! I can't believe people actually bothered to read this haha. I will try to keep updating at least weekly, though school is a little hectic. Btw, i don't own harry potter. Also, I noticed that I use the word 'for' a lot... or is it just me?

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><p>Astoria and Scorpius stood in front of the train, a crowd of students and trolleys and crying parents on all sides of them. She reached forward to straighten his black and yellow tie, which had been mussed by his constant tugging on it. Stepping back to admire her work, Astoria smiled. There was something classy about a well done tie, she mused to herself.<p>

"You look great, dear. But are you really sure about that hair?", she asked one last time, lifting a hand to try to clear the hair out of his face. He put up his palm abruptly to prevent her from exposing him to the sea of people.

"Mom, I'm fine", he mumbled, glancing shiftily around the platform. He felt bad for being the way he was— he knew that his mom wished she could hug him and cry loudly and fawn over him like the other mothers on the platform.

"Bye Mum!" "Bloody hell, mate! Its great to see you!" "Bollocks, I forgot my owl!"

There was an awkward yet noisy pause filled by the shouts of all of the European children in the platform. It made Scorpius feel even more alone— being a Malfoy was bad enough, but speaking with a fake british accent whenever he spoke (which was rare) to others was exhausting and strange. It reminded him that he was a foreigner and different in too many ways… but he pushed that aside because his mother was tearing up.

"Oh, Scorp. You look so grown up… And that uniform looks so dashing on you," she whispered as she pulled him in for a hug. She realized that she didn't have to stoop like she had in previous years; he was her height now. They stayed there for a bit too long before she released her hold on him and he turned to board the train.

As the Hogwarts Express pulled out of the station, he stuck his head out of the window of his empty compartment and waved once. His mom waved back excitedly, and he watched her tall figure grow smaller and smaller until there was only countryside. He pushed away a twinge of guilt. He felt bad that the whole parting was hushed and that she hadn't even gotten to see his face one more time.

If he could change one thing, he would make it so that his mom could give him the most extravagant and noisy good bye that she wanted. That she could say bye like a normal mom. But of course, that would never happen. He leaned back onto his seat and sighed.

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><p>The train arrived at the station more quickly than Scorpius would have liked. He stood up and dusted off the khakis that went with his uniform, before realizing there was no point in worrying about appearance. The school uniform for WestWing, which looked like any muggle preppy high school uniform, felt different from his old school robes from the past few years. There wasn't the protective, concealing element with these clothes. In addition, they made him look horrible, for the pants were too long and the shirt was just one size too big. Luckily for him, nobody would care. He never even talked to anyone and people were used to his (literally) poor fashion (an: get it? haha okay never mind).

He stepped off the platform carefully, since he couldn't see very well due to the curtain in front of his face, and looked around. It was a normal scene, but he still felt so out of place. But then, that was normal as well. He quickly hurried off to the back of the line, discreetly allowing all the other students to cut him so he could take the last carriage. They nearly didn't notice him, for he was just 'that weird recluse Malfoy with the evil parents'— an object of speculation and curiosity, but not something to worry about.

Sure enough, the last carriage was empty. He sat awkwardly for the short duration of the ride. He then hurried into the Great Hall and sat at the far edge of the Hufflepuff table, with a 5 foot radius of empty around him. Scorpius sat through the sorting and the speech, ate a little bit of food without showing his face, and then shuffled along behind his housemates back to the common room. As everybody caught up with each other and laughed and chatted easily, he slunk upstairs to the dorm for 4th year boys and found the bed that had his initials on it. Ironically, it was on the far side of the room, slightly apart from the other boys' beds.

Scorpius laughed humorlessly. The noise echoed eerily throughout the room.

Even the magic that arranged the dorms knew he was an outcast.

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><p>Scorpius got up early. He was a horribly late riser and couldn't get enough sleep, but somehow, he found himself functioning at 6:00 a.m. After debating whether he should resume his sleep or not, he crawled out of bed at 6:15, pulled down his pajama pants, pulled up his oversized khakis, quickly held them up with the rope that he had transfigured into a belt, and slipped the still buttoned white button down over his head. He grabbed his ministry-issued wand and wished that he knew a shrinking spell for his clothes. Finally, he tied his hufflepuff tie around his neck loosely... but then remembered his mother and tightened it all the way up.<p>

Only stopping to pick up his messenger bag, which was held together by a few badly done spells he had learned the previous year, he swiftly head out of the dorms and down to the Great Hall. It was 6:30, and nobody was there except for two ravenclaws, who were also fourth years: Dan Danners, a genius overachiever who was ranked first in every class offered to the 4th year class (and currently reading a textbook), and TJ Lee, a bored kid who liked to start (and end) fights. He currently held the school's record for 'most times visited the hospital wing' and didn't get along with anybody. Neither of them even bothered to look in his direction as he quietly made his way to his table in the silent hall.

All of a sudden, somebody else entered the hall. She was wearing blue running shorts and a tank top with "RAVENCLAW QUIDDITCH" emblazoned on it. Her hair was bright red and slightly curly/frizzed, but in an attractive way. She was sweaty and her sneakers were covered in mud, for it had rained the previous night.

Their paths crossed and they both froze awkwardly. Then, he mumbled something from behind his hair.

"Mud."

"Excuse me?!" Rose Weasley glared at him accusingly.

"There is mud on your face, by your nose," he said a tiny bit louder, causing TJ to glance over.

"Oh," Rose looked abashed. He could tell that she thought he had meant to be insulting. After all, he was a Malfoy.

She didn't seem to remember that in this era, it was he who had the dirty blood.

As he walked away to sit down for breakfast, a thought crossed Rose Weasley's mind.

That was the first time she had ever heard the meek, hoarse, and surprisingly nice voice of Scorpius Malfoy.


	3. Introducing the Others

To Introduce the Others/Scorpius' Desk Mate

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter :) Also, thank you for follows and reviews! I can't believe I got more than 0! :-p

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><p>Weasley (noun): the antithesis of Malfoy<p>

There was no doubt that Rose Weasley was the most popular girl in the 4th year, if not the whole school. The daughter of two prominent war heroes, Rose was well liked and well known by many. The Weasley family was also very rich and well respected- every member seemed to have a high position in the ministry or a prestigious job. Just like the Malfoys, the name Weasley appeared frequently in the class, 'History of Magic'… but they were talked about in a way that the Malfoys never were. It seemed that throughout history, Weasleys and Malfoys would always be polar opposites.

Rose was smart, probably in the top 10 of 150 fourth years. She was pretty in a relaxed way— her red hair was always tied back in a bright and cheerful ponytail and, though it was a little crazy and curly, it always looked gorgeous. Being a Weasley, Rose had lots of cute freckles and was a walloping 5'11". She was a role model to everyone younger than her, and even to those her age. Every style Rose Weasley tried was emulated by other girls. Every band she listened to became explosively popular. She was friendly with everyone and confident and chatty. Everybody loved her, and she loved everybody.

Well, excepting Scorpius Malfoy. He had spoken to Rose once (that morning) in his lifetime. Sadly, it was more than he had talked to just about everybody since coming to Hogwarts. He hadn't made any friends since day one and had rarely spoken after receiving those first awkward, freaked out glances from the rest of his year.

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><p>Schedule for S. Malfoy on Mondays:<p>

British Literature

Algebra 1+2

Biology

Lunch

4th year Dance

Ancient and Medieval Muggle History

Spanish 1

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><p>Scorpius quietly made his way to British Literature, picking a desk in the far back corner. He quickly shuffled towards it, peeking through his hair nervously. Nobody paid him any mind.<p>

As he sat down, silently hunched over, he glanced over at the loud and excited groups of students around the room. To his right was a group of girls laughing over some video on a MagiPhone 6+, the hottest new magic technology that was essentially a magic-imbued muggle cell phone that needed no service or data to work. There were a few gryffindors and slytherins debating about quidditch right behind him as well.

"Listen here, Yaxley. Gryffindor is bollocks in quidditch and have been since Harry Potter left. Slytherin will be taking the cup, so you might as well give up", Pauline Carrow, a girl who was usually quite kind (well, she had never looked at Scorpius weirdly), sneered.

"Yeah right. I think we all know that the season will end with you snakes where you belong- the dirt!" Quinn Yaxley retorted. He was a loud and flirty gryffindor who seemed to be the only one who could stand up to or annoy Rose Weasley. To others, it was a funny relationship which consisted of loud arguments, fierce competitiveness, and just a tiny bit of sexual tension.

"Uh, mate… Do snakes even live in the dirt?", asked Frank Longbottom, Quinn's best friend and fellow gryffindor chaser.

"Er… yeah… uh…" Quinn stuttered and then Carrow and Longbottom laughed good-naturedly and they all slapped each other on the backs. They had the camaraderie that comes with being athletes… It evoked the smallest twinge of envy in Scorpius. He had only ridden a broom in first year flight class, and he had felt so pressured that he had done everything timidly and stayed firmly in the middle of the class in ability. He wondered if he would be a good flyer, but pushed the thought out of his mind for he knew he would never play.

It seemed like everyone was there and chatting happily, excepting Scorpius, until something attention grabbing ran into the room.

"Rose!" everyone smiled and rushed to greet her. She had walked in with Dan Danners, and they had probably discussing a book, which Rose enjoyed doing with Dan. As people crowded around her to greet her and Dan while expressing happy shock that she had chosen WestWing, only Scorpius remained seated in his secluded back corner. He wouldn't be welcome, and he couldn't handle that many people anyway. Besides, it wasn't like he knew Rose.

"Hey Weasel!"

"Yaxley", Rose glared at him.

"Aw, she's mad!", he cooed. Rose elbowed him in the stomach and he doubled over.

"Just wait until the first match of the season and we'll see who's mad then", Rose huffed. She was a ravenclaw chaser who always fighting for the quaffle with Quinn.

Quinn smirked at her. "Aw Rosie-Posie, I know you'll be mad when we win, but you'll just have to get over it."

Their banter, which was being observed by a whole ring of anticipating classmates, was interrupted by the arrival of the last member of the class.

He was tall, nearly as tall as Rose, and was wearing a snapback and a loose ravenclaw tie. His oxford was rolled up to his elbows and slightly undone at the top, revealing a bit of a black undershirt. It was also semi untucked. He wore air jordans and a rope bracelet. He could have been a model, except for the fact that he was only 15 and looked kind of intimidating. It was silent as TJ Lee strolled through the parting crowd and seated himself down… next to Scorpius. Scorpius jumped a little in surprise— He had never sat next to somebody in class save partner work and he was alarmed that TJ would sit next to him.

The talk resumed quickly and the quiet was immersed with the sound of Rose and Quinn's fiery discussion about whatever.

Scorpius snuck a glance over at TJ through his hair. He was pretty sure that he didn't want to be friends and probably wanted to be left alone. …Which was okay with him, since he didn't necessarily feel any different. Scorpius sat stiffly, turned a little in the opposite direction, while TJ sat relaxed beside him like a delinquent.

Soon enough, the bell rang.

In through the door walked a serious, yet classy looking woman in a pencil skirt and blouse. Scorpius thought he heard a sharp intake of breath from beside him.

"Hi, everybody. My name is SooJin Lee, though you should call me 'Professor', or 'Professor Lee.' I'll be teaching british literature this year— the syllabus will be coming around after I take attendance." She waved her wand and her name appeared on the blackboard.

She cleared her throat authoritatively.

"Aarons, Erin."

"Here!"

"Carrow, Pauline."

"Here!"

The list went on.

"Ee, Taejin."

TJ raised a sulky hand from his slouched position. Although he appeared relaxed, Scorpius noticed that he seemed to brace himself for what he expected to come.

"Taejin. Stand up and come here." He slowly got up and sauntered to the front of the large classroom.

"What is this?" she asked quietly.

"What?", he replied, nervously belligerent. The class waited, holding their breaths.

"Ee TaeJin, what is this? Fix your tie and tuck in your shirt! How dare you come to class like this— especially to my class!" She grabbed his ear and twisted it.

"Ahh- Ah!" Taejin squirmed. The class was awkwardly still- should they laugh? What was happening to TJ the scary delinquent?

"I can't believe my own brother is going around like some… this trashy looking hobo!.You're not some cool and unique rebel, TJ! You're a student. Umma didn't raise you like this," she said sternly, her voice never rising above normal talking range. It was even scarier to see her cold and composed rather than furious.

She let go of him, and he flinched away from her. Then, reluctantly, he tucked in his shirt and tightened his tie. She whipped the snapback of his head to reveal surprisingly neat hair. After a nod of confirmation, he sulked back to his seat and plopped down next to Scorpius, pissed off and humiliated.

Scorpius turned his head in his direction, though he couldn't see very well through his hair.

"Hey, bastard. Don't you dare look," threatened TJ. Scorpius quickly angled his body away from him.

After the dramatic start, roll call continued, though the class was a little bit more anxious and intimidated.

"Malfoy, Scorpius." Scorpius raised his hand. Professor Lee frowned. She had expected him to say something, like everyone else. She was also alarmed by the state of his hair.

"How can I expect you to read the blackboard if your hair is like that?" she asked.

Scorpius panicked. He was usually ignored, and teacher's never cared about his hair or his ability to see the board. The whole class turned to him, curious. They hadn't seen his face in 3 years. He couldn't handle all of the stares. He didn't want to say anything. He was frozen for what felt like a century, not breathing.

"I… can see it," he whispered. Everyone's interest piqued— Scorpius hadn't spoken at Hogwarts since what seemed like day one. _Louder_, he encouraged himself.

"I c-can see it", he managed.

Professor Lee gave him a look and pursed her lips, but continued on with the list. She magically conjured syllabuses for everybody. She went through them.

And then bell rang and the class was over and Scorpius hurried out of the room, tailing behind the crowd.


	4. Paper Airplane

Malfoy or Mistake?

Wow I got more follows, reviews, and even a favorite! I never thought that kind of stuff would matter to me but it is actually really surprising and nice to know that people are actually reading this :) Thanks guys. I'm going to try to speed the story up a little and start making it more funny… if I can ^^ Also, Scorpius will stop being so self-pitying soon… well at least that is the goal…

also, while I don't dance, I've always been a huge fan of it so I do know a little bit about it. Plus, my sister is a dancer :)

disclaimer: harry potter isn't mine! And neither is any of the music mentioned

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><p>Throughout math and bio, Scorpius continued with his normal routine of hiding in the back corner without saying a word. He felt like he was wading through molasses; the day was going so slowly. He simply sat in his seat, doing absolutely nothing, but feeling extra awkward and stiff due to an unfamiliar presence of somebody he had never even had classes with before.<p>

Scorpius didn't dare look next to him. He was now 100% sure that TJ was only next to him because he wanted to be left alone as well. However, he was admittedly a little scared and gave off an aura that made Scorpius want to hunch over even more.

However, the next two classes were different from English. Rather than leaning back lazily (and rudely), TJ was bent over his desk tiredly and would occasionally scribble down notes, but otherwise did not attract the same 'bad' attention he did in his elder sister's classroom. It was strange because he did not give off the same rebellious vibe that he did during lunch and before he started a fight. However, Scorpius didn't think too much about it and merely studied his hands under the desk.

After biology, they both started to get up and Scorpius' bag accidentally brushed against TJ. He jumped back instinctively, wary and alarmed, but then realized something weird. He hadn't felt any contact between TJ and his bag… and in fact, his bag had passed straight through him. This illusion was not the TJ he had sat with first bell; it was a holographic spell! Scorpius realized that TJ had showed up to Literature because his sister would catch him… and to scout out a seat mate who wouldn't realize what he was doing.

Much of the Hogwarts population wondered why TJ, a delinquent who got abysmal grades, was in Ravenclaw. Now, Scorpius knew the answer. The spell work he had done to create an illusion that detailed and convincing was N.E.W.T level, and they were just 'year fours'. Luckily for TJ, Scorpius clearly was not going to say anything about this, even though he had discovered his secret. In fact, he had pushed it out of his mind and went to lunch.

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><p>Lunch was horrible for Scorpius because he couldn't talk to anybody. He always seated himself at the opposite end of the table, far away from the other hufflepuffs. So, today, he grabbed a sandwich and slunk out of the Great Hall. He walked quickly through the empty halls, sticking to the sides of the corridors out of habit. Finally, he reached the classroom for dance.<p>

The room was huge and looked like a typical studio but maybe three times as big. Bars lined one wall, and a few large magical speakers were spread around the room.

He honestly was not sure about what style of dance or level of difficulty of the class; therefore, he had no idea of he was supposed to wear. Rooting through his breaking messenger bag, he pulled out the pair of green track pants from the GoodWill near Colling Cauldron and an oversized plain white t-shirt that his mother had found on sale at the Walmart next to the diner she worked at. It was what he typically wore at the studio back home. He quickly changed and discarded the horrid uniform in the corner with his bag.

Cautiously tying back his hair into a stringy pony tail, he looked at his face for the first time all day in the large mirrors that made up the walls of the room. It was not a handsome face: pale, a little hollow, and bleak. In addition, he was not exactly genetically blessed and there was nothing attractive about his face. It would have been a shame except for the fact that he had nobody to impress and no need to look good. Scorpius decided to leave his hair back until lunch ended and proceeded to stretch.

He stretched on the ground and then on the bar, his feet comfortable in the nice new ballet shoes that Linda had sent him for his birthday that May. Then, he decided to warm up with some hip hop to loosen his muscles. Scorpius switched back into his ratty trainers and carefully tucking away his ballet shoes. Even though nobody was around, he snuck over to the speakers and waved his wand while thinking of a song that Zhang Li Hua, the hip hop dance instructor at Die or Dance, had loved to use for warm ups.

"Ladies and gentlemen (leggo)  
>kan show que ren piao zai shou, bu yao huang bu yao mang, pai dui xiang li zou…"<p>

The song started and Scorpius felt himself begin to move to the carefully practiced choreography that had become nearly second nature. He hadn't even really liked the song at first, but it had an easy to follow beat and had grown on him a lot. If he hadn't been himself, he might have even sang along. Moving his whole body to the song made Scorpius feel so much better. He always seemed to have this empty feeling that suffocated him (metaphorically), but it was eased by dancing.

After the song ended and he had finished getting loose and comfortable, Scorpius flicked his wand at the speakers to switch the song and loop a personal favorite of Linda's: 'Planet Rock', an old song from 1982. Scorpius had thought the song was extremely annoying at first, just like most of the stuff Li Hua loved to use, but just like those songs, it had grown on him (although he still couldn't understand any of it). It was easy to breakdance to and Scorpius quickly got to work. He worked on various swipes, went over his 6-step, and briefly covered his back spin. He was in the middle of his first attempt at a headspin, using his hands to spin himself around, when he was startled by a gasp.

"Urgh-ah!" he exclaimed, toppling over. It was probably the loudest noise he had ever made during his time at Hogwarts.

"Mr… Malfoy?" a tall, blonde lady dressed for ballet was gaping at him. Planet Rock was still blaring uncomfortably loudly. The two stared at each other, one sitting on the floor and the other standing in the doorway, both frozen.

Then, Scorpius realized that he could see a bit too clearly. He gasped and raised a hand to cover his face while yanking out the hair tie with the other. He then got up and scrambled over to grab his wand and flicked off the music. The room came to an abrupt silence.

"So.. It wasn't a typo?" she breathed, confused. Scorpius pretended that he hadn't heard her, although her comment stung a little bit.

"Oh, pardon me! I'm Henrietta MacMillan and I'm the dance teacher!" she extended her hand to shake. Scorpius eyed it warily. Did he have to touch it? He shuffled forward a bit, then stepped back and nodded his head. Henrietta lowered her hand awkwardly.

"Well, you seem to like to breakdance?" she tried to start a conversation, but Scorpius just nodded mutely before shuffling over to his bag and discarding his trainers and socks and putting his ballet slippers on.

All the effort, power, and grace had drained from his movements, which were now minimal and timid.

Scorpius' mind, however, was flailing wildly and racing a hundred miles per minute. _She saw my face, she saw me, she…_ He was panicking slightly and was about to run out of the room when five girls walked in. He, quite frankly, didn't know any of them. They were all wearing leotards and tights… and they all gawked at him when they entered the room. Scorpius felt cornered. He was internally having a break down; too many people were staring. It was just like his sorting and those dreadful History of Modern Magic classes from second year.

_Stop looking! Stop!_ he pleaded tacitly, but nobody got the message, for his face was not visible.

"Phoebe, Grace, Katie, Sarah, Natalya, Scorpius," Henrietta smiled a little too big as she addressed the silent group. "Welcome to 4th Year Dance. I'm Henrietta MacMillan and I am really excited to work with you all. Please, lets all stretch now. I'll run through some stretches with you and then we can get to work."

The other girls glanced at Scorpius, confused, but hurried to put their bags down. The group gathered to stretch, Scorpius a little outside the circle they had formed.

"Scorpius, I don't know if you have done ballet—" Henrietta started, but stopped when she saw him nod his head.

"Oh, okay… Wonderful! Let's begin, then!" Scorpius didn't know what to do, so he just went on autopilot and immersed himself in the stretching. He tried to pretend that he wasn't at Hogwarts, that he was with Linda back in Massachusetts. When they ran through tests to judge their skill levels, he simply did what he always did. Since he had abandoned being overly conscious, he lifted the inhibitions on his movement and for a moment he forgot that he was Scorpius the lonely, shy loser. He forgot that he was afraid of everything. He was Scott Mallory from Die or Dance, a good listener and a hard working dancer/part time cashier.

By the end of the lesson, he was sweaty and Henrietta was looking quite pleased with him. "Nice work, Scorpius. I think you will be a great asset to the class this year", she commented as he was packing up. The other girls looked at him with kinder eyes as well. They had all been pretty good from what he had assessed, though not as good as Melanie and Parker, his friends from back home. He felt his chest swell a little bit with something that could be identified as pride… something he had never, ever felt at Hogwarts.

Scorpius reached up a hand to push away his hair and smile back at them when he froze. What was he doing? His panic switch activated again and he hastily grabbed his bag and nodded a farewell before bolting out the door. He took off, running away from that terrifying moment of weakness, that stupid moment where he got carried away and had foolishly tricked himself into believing the impossible… But of course, due to his bad luck (and obstructed vision), he crashed into something solid. It was lean and muscular, not unlike his own body after years of dance. It was also tall— well, much taller than he was. Scorpius fell backwards and looked up. There, extending a hand to help him to his feet, was Rose Weasley. She was in all white, excepting the brown cloth belt around her waist. Behind her was Dan Danners, Hogwarts' resident study bug, in the same white clothing with a black belt.

And then time froze for Scorpius.

His mind emptied. But it was different from the hollow empty he had felt before. It was a calm empty, and it seemed to ask him:

"Will you take that hand? Will you stay sitting on the floor? Will you just get up yourself?"


	5. Not Rose, Rose Weasley

Disclaimer: harry potter isn't mine… :)

He didn't know what to do. He didn't want to touch it. The hand seemed to be nearing him, looming over him like a menacing monster. Scorpius could feel the blood roaring in his ears, his heart pounding wildly from adrenaline. He was panicked and couldn't comprehend his jumbled thoughts. Should he grab the hand? His fingers twitched and he felt his hand starting to lift off the ground before it faltered abruptly and was forced down by gravity.

"Eep!" he squeaked. Her hand was a little rough and very large— larger than his own— and it grasped his firmly before hauling him up. When she let go, he was still a little stunned and his mind felt as blank as a slate. _What just… She…_

"Hey! Are you all right?" She smiled at him, probably an attempt to make up for her awkwardly wrong assumption that morning.

"Eh…" Scorpius said in a voice that was barely audible. Today, too many people had touched him, talked to him… His dance teacher had even seen his face! He wanted to run away from Hogwarts right then.

"What?" Rose Weasley inquired, tilting her head and looking down at his smaller form, which was stiff with the shock of being grabbed without warning. She smiled a little crooked smile, hands resting on the straps of her dark blue designer backpack.

"Thanks," Scorpius whispered. Then, he sprinted past her as fast as he could, feeling more exposed than ever in his oversized uniform. He felt like he was flapping and flailing as he stumbled through the corridors, tightly holding onto his messenger bag; he felt like the spells holding it together were failing, which made him run even faster, leaving behind a stunned Dan and a curious Rose.

Scorpius slunk into Ancient Muggle History, his heart rate calm and his mind cleared. He had panicked because he had almost shown his lone wolf face to a hostile pack. Then, he had run away from Rose Weasley because… he had been in the middle of running away anyway and he was surprised by the way she had grabbed him— he hadn't even been touched by another student in all of years at Hogwarts before today…

Scorpius knew that if he let his guard down, he'd be ripped apart by everyone around him because they hated him and would never trust him. For this reason, he hoped that Rose Weasley would not tell other students that he had crashed into her, for he didn't want to be a target for the hatred of the entire school.

_Breathe_, he thought. He looked over to his right to see if TJ's spell had arrived yet and did a double-take. There, reclining in the next seat (which had always been either (a) empty or (b) as of late, occupied by a grumpy rule-breaker), dressed in neatly pressed, tailored khaki pants, a spotless, fitting blouse, and a stylishly (but not rebelliously) loose ravenclaw tie… was Rose herself. She looked over at him and smiled, flashing perfect white teeth. Her red hair was up in a loose, messy bun, which showed off her whole face. Scorpius became acutely aware of their differences and he felt like shrinking. He wanted to shrivel up and disappear. Now, everybody was looking at them.

"Rosie, I didn't know you were friends with Malfoy?" a girl in front of them turned around with a surprised look on her face. Rose just smiled at her. Then, she looked over at Scorpius.

"Hey."

Scorpius said nothing. He was absolutely frozen. What was she doing?

Throughout the class, Rose took diligent notes while Scorpius fiddled with his hands under the desk (he was prone to doing this) and tried to understand what was going on. From time to time, she would nudge him and smile when somebody said something funny and she constantly called attention to their area by commenting and participating actively with the discussion, which was about Mesopotamia.

When the class was over, Rose got up, flashing a friendly smile at him before turning to go. The class filed out of the room, but Scorpius stayed where he was. He slumped against his desk. What had that been? How was he supposed to take that?

Scorpius banged his head against his desk, then got up to leave. He saw that the TJ hologram was a few seats behind him, sitting there idly. It was incredible spell work, mused Scorpius, as he shoved a notebook into his messenger bag. He then grabbed his pencils and pens (A/N: WestWing doesn't use quills or parchment for obvious reasons) and made his way to the door, shuffling awkwardly.

"Hey!"

Scorpius stumbled backwards in surprise, terror seizing his mind. He could barely see thanks to his hairdo, so the outburst had been a complete shock. He could make out something tall in front of him… and the voice was familiar… He peered through his hair.

_HER AGAIN?!_ Scorpius' brain went reeling. Was she talking to him?

"I notice we haven't spoken a lot before, but I'd like to apologize for this morning. It was totally wrong and I'm sorry. Anyway, why'd you run off this afternoon?" Rose Weasley's hands were on her hips and she fixed him with a stare he could feel through his shield of hair. He couldn't tell if it was a challenging, belligerent stare or not and he didn't want to find out, but he could tell that she was expecting an answer.

He fumbled around in his brain and no words came out of his slightly open mouth, although she of course couldn't see that he was struggling. She waited patiently. Scorpius didn't want to speak anymore. He had been terrified multiple times that day and was very confused… so he just nodded his head.

"What kind of answer is that? I know you can talk," Rose Weasley sounded a little irritated, but Scorpius' eyes were squeezed shut so he couldn't take a peek to confirm anything. He nodded again and tried to go around her, but she slid over to block his way.

"It's sort of rude to ignore people… Also, Taejin, what are you doing still here?" Scorpius turned around. The TJ-illusion was staring at them, looking bored with his arms crossed.

Scorpius panicked. He knew the projection wouldn't be able to speak and he didn't want TJ's secret to be blown; he was afraid of sitting next to the real thing in class! He whirled to face Rose.

"W-w-wait! He.. He has a s-sore throat and l-lost his v-voice. S-so he c-can't t-t-talk right n-now," he stuttered, voice barely audible in the large classroom.

"So now you decide to talk?!" Rose Weasley exclaimed indignantly. "Why'd you ignore me?"

"Hey Malfoy, I can talk just fine… And I want to talk to you right now."

Scorpius jumped, alarmed. Then he froze and turned around slowly, like a creaky robot that hadn't been oiled in 10 years. TJ was glaring at him. In that moment, Scorpius didn't see a Hogwarts student. He saw a gangster with a mean glint in his eye and he felt like pissing his pants.

TJ marched over to him and gripped his shoulder with a very real hand. He started steering him out of the room, but Rose Weasley followed them, affronted.

"Hey! I was talking to him!" She grabbed TJ and yanked him backwards, using her superior size and strength to stop him. He turned around, fixing her with a murderous scowl.

"You're not the only one in this school who knows martial arts, Weasley" he growled.

"Yeah. But I know you don't know martial arts because your stance is all wrong!" she gestured to the aggressive pose he had taken.

"Why you-!" They both faced each other, then simultaneously looked over to where Scorpius was cowering near the wall of the hallway.

"Stay put!" they shouted together.

"Did he just…" Rose stared.

"Yeah I think…" TJ drifted off.

"Uh, we should probably take him to the Hospital Wing," Rose scooped Scorpius up bridal style.

"What makes you think I— Okay wait!" TJ ran after the now fainted Malfoy and the briskly walking redhead.

_Bloody Hell_, he groaned internally.


	6. Revitalize

hp isn't mine! :) thanks so much to anyone who is reading this. I even got a review that said, "Wow." Not sure if it was an insult or not, though… Anyway, this one is less of a 3rd person limited POV of Scorpius but more omniscient, though not totally. Not my best writing but... I wanted to hurry the story along.

* * *

><p>"He's coming to! Alright, Miss Weasley, see that revitalizing drought? could you give him two?" Scorpius opened stickily eyelids. He was starting to be able to make out a blurry image of what looked like the school nurse, Romilda Vane, standing over him and talking loudly.<p>

"Sure thing, Madame," Rose Weasley responded, picking up a bottle. She carefully poured in two tablespoons while Madame Vane had her back turned, looking for something else.

"Hey, Malfoy. Open wide!" He was now fully aware, but that didn't prepare him any for when Rose Weasley propped him upright, grabbed his mouth and forced it open, and dumped a sickly sweet smelling pink liquid into his mouth.

"Harghaarh!" he choked, causing Madame Vane to turn around. "Oh my!"

Rose smiled at her. "I gave him two tablespoons, just like you asked!"

Madame Vane gaped at her. "You… I meant two milliliters! That stuff is insanely strong!"

Rose gulped. "Uh…"

TJ, who had been standing a little further back, snorted. He looked grumpy as ever, slouching in the corner of the curtained off section containing the bed Scorpius was currently lying on.

Scorpius was in shock as he took in the scene. He had spent years avoiding the hospital wing to avoid an awkward encounter with the nurse (this made getting sick miserable for him, for he attempted to remain inconspicuous by going to class as usual). Why was he in the infirmary? Why were Rose Weasley and TJ Lee watching him?

Also, he was starting to feel weird. Rose was currently profusely apologizing and Madame Vane was looking at them all, exasperated.

"No need to get all worked up, Rose. It won't hurt him— he'll just be extremely excited for a few days," she sighed. "Now I'm going to go brew some more potions. You all behave."

Madame Vane dramatically whisked out of the room, the curtains flapping behind her.

There was an awkward silence.

"Hey, I didn't do this to you," TJ was the first to speak, "But I _do_ have something to… talk to you about." Scorpius swallowed air. "Uh…"

"I didn't either!" Rose chimed in, smiling at him. "Anyway, how are you feeling? You just fainted, but I don't think it was anything serious. You missed Spanish, though."

Scorpius was unsure of what to say, but for some reason, he felt like saying something… almost like there was energy bubbling up inside of him, looking for an escape.

"By the way, I'm kind of surprised. You've got a pretty normal face, so I don't know why you keep your hair so long," Rose stared at him, tilting her head with a contemplative expression on her face.

"Huh?" Scorpius' hands flew up to his face.

"Holy shit!" That was the first time he had ever sworn in his life. What? But before he could think anymore, his brain went into overdrive.

"Ack! Uh, what-hey-stop-my-oh my god-ah! Worst day ever! Ahh!" he reached up and felt the thing that was holding back his hair. He yanked it off and was aghast.

"This headband is pink with unicorns on it!" he wailed. "You didn't take any pictures, right?"

Rose stared at him, dumbfounded. "Malfoy? You alright? You… don't seem to be yourself right now…"

"Its that overdose you gave him," TJ rolled his eyes at her.

"Someone call the doctor!" cried Rose, "He's being weird!"

Scorpius had gotten up and was currently banging his head against the wall.

"It's only just a dream. It's only justa dream! JUST A DREAM!" He screeched, his voice hoarse. He hadn't used it this much in years.

"Why do these pajamas have Wall-E on them?! Why am I in pajamas?!" His voice was practically gone but the others could tell he was trying to shout. Rose and TJ exchanged glances.

"Uh… I thought it would look a right bit funny?" She grinned sheepishly and flicked her wand. His clothes changed back into a uniform.

Scorpius stopped banging his head against the wall. "This… This isn't my uniform?" He started patting himself down like airport security. The uniform he was wearing was completely normal. It fit like it was tailored and was brand new. It was also much less concealing and a new kind of weird.

"It… fits? There aren't any… holes?"

"Yeah, you look much better! Now, all you need is a haircu—" Scorpius whipped around to face them and cut her off with a loud, "NO! NOT THE HAIR!"

"Oh, sorry! Nevermind!" she said hastily, glancing back at TJ.

"You!" he pointed a finger each at both TJ and Rose. "You two— what are you doing? I'm not falling for it! I don't even get it!" Scorpius was borderline hysterical and his voice was raspy— he supposed it was painful but he wasn't thinking clearly so he couldn't really tell.

"Hey, punk. Don't point fingers at me," TJ growled.

"I'll do what I want!" retorted Scorpius, who was now pirouetting around in circles. However, he quickly crashed into the curtains of the confined area and fell to the floor, flailing around like a fish out of water.

"I think that potion really screwed him up…" Rose trailed off.

"And it was your fault, Weasley. Now leave, I need to talk to Ballet Boy for a second," he motioned for her to leave while Scorpius continued to attempt to yell with his normally unused vocal chords and roll all over the floor. Rose quickly began to argue with him. Scorpius kept having his tantrum.

"All you jerks! I don't have Voldemort tattooed on my face! I hate you! Stop shunning me! What did I even do?!" tears were streaming down Scorpius' cheeks as he continued to roll on the floor, clutching a teddy bear (there for stressed or scared young patients— namely first years—) labeled, "Hug me!", to his chest.

"Stop crying!" commanded TJ, looking extra peeved. "Rose, get me a calming drought, will you?"

But she had turned to Scorpius. "What are you whining about?!" she ranted, her sense of righteousness coming out. "Are you crazy!? Nobody shuns you— you shut yourself off from everyone! Even when people tried to be friends with you in first year, YOU were the one who kept running away from everyone! Your life is your own bloody fault!"

"Sh-Sh-Shut up!" He yelled back. "You don't know anything!"

"Both of you!" TJ yanked open the calming draught and moved towards them. "Stop being so stupid or I'm going to—!"

"Don't tell me what to do!" Rose brandished her wand, her face flushed with indignancy. Red sparks flew out of the tip and a few landed in the potion. There was a pause…

"KA-BOOM!"

"Oh my word!" Madame Vane hurried into the room and flung open the curtains (dramatically). All three students were slightly smoking— They were sooty and shocked. TJ's hair was sticking straight up, Rose's beautifully pressed blouse was stained, and the bottom part of Scorpius' hair was singed so that it only covered up to his upper lip.

"My… My calming draught! That takes forever to brew, you bloody fools!" cursed Madame Vane, aghast at the scene.

"Detention for all three of you! For a week!" she ordered. "Now get out of the hospital wing!"

* * *

><p>The trio stumbled out, slightly dazed. Then, TJ and Rose each grabbed one of Scorpius' hands and tugged.<p>

"Hey, Malfoy. We need to talk," TJ glowered at Scorpius menacingly, but for some odd reason, he felt no fear.

"Hey, I want some answers, too. What was with that outburst?" asked Rose, slightly calmer now.

"Detention… I wanted to stay out of trouble… I…!" Scorpius wrenched himself free and took off. However, Rose Weasley was faster.

"Accio Northwind!" a sleek broom came racing through the corridors and flew into her outstretched hand. She mounted the broom, shot forward, grabbed Scorpius and plopped him on her broom, then raced away while cackling, "Hold on tight!"

"Stop! Stop right there, you bloody hag!" TJ yelled, more panicked than Scorpius had ever heard him. "I need to talk to him!"

This was way too much for Scorpius. On an ordinary day, he might have fainted. However, he was just too awake and too fired up to do that, so he just settled for screaming, "WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY!?"

* * *

><p>When they finally landed, Scorpius stumbled off the broom and looked around dazedly. "The courtyard…?"<p>

Rose Weasley smiled at him. "Hey, Scorpius. Let's be friends! You owe me some explanations, but you don't have to tell me everything right now! Here, take this!" She shoved a leather bound notebook into his messenger bag.

"Also, I fixed your rucksack. Anyway, I'll see you! Use that journal!" She sprinted off to a group of friends who were all waving her over excitedly.

"Friends?… Hey! I don't owe you any explanation! What do you mean?!" he tried to tell her, but no sound came out.

All of a sudden, he felt way too exhausted. He ran (today was the first time he had ever run through a corridor, now that he thought about it) all the way to the Hufflepuff common room, wheezed out the password, which was 'Ernie and Bert' (Seriously, who came up with these?) and briskly speed walked up to his dormitory. He yanked open the medical cabinet, guzzled down a serving of calming drought, and then yanked off his messenger bag and collapsed on his bed. The day had been way too much for him. He had said so much and three people had seen his face and he had let out information and feelings that he had refused to acknowledge internally to strangers!

Scorpius looked at the bottom of his bag— it was fixed perfectly, nothing like the shabby spell work he had used to put it together earlier. Then, he reached in and looked at the notebook. It was plain leather and looked normal, but when he opened it, he nearly had a heart attack. Words were appearing on the page!

_Hey Scorpius. It's Rose. We can write each other through this! Cool charm, huh?_

Scorpius felt like fainting again. He couldn't think at all, which was good because then he probably would have had a mental breakdown.

Friends... It was odd. He'd never had a friend his age before. Could they really be friends?

_Probably not_, he thought bitterly before falling asleep.


	7. The First Steps of Change

Finals are over! So _finally_ I have a new chapter. Sorry readers (if you're out there)… Harry Potter isn't mine

* * *

><p>Scorpius woke up normally. He pushed his covers off and sat up in his four-poster, then pulled back the curtains he usually kept closed. Nobody was in the dorm, they had all gone to breakfast. He checked the time; it was 7:30, about an hour before his first class. He looked to the nightstand for his wand, but was met with a sight that surprised him. Was this another part of his crazy dream? He remembered screaming like a lunatic and going to the hospital wing in his nightmare, yet the sight that greeted him was just as weird.<p>

On the nightstand he had remembered as cleared and empty was a box of Bertie Botts Every-Flavored Beans and a small stack of paper with a scribbled note on the top. Scorpius picked up the paper and deciphered the bad handwriting.

_Hey S̶c̶o̶r̶p̶i̶u̶s̶ ̶S̶k̶o̶r̶r̶p̶y̶u̶s̶ ̶S̶k̶o̶r̶p̶e̶u̶s̶ . __Scorpeus,_

_We know you missed Spanish so we duplicated Hasan's notes for you. Hope you are feeling better!_

_Dave, David, Hasan, Luke, and William_

_P.S. The password already changed. It's now 'Timone and Pumba'_

He had to read the note five times before it computed in his brain. He was completely shocked; the boys in his dorm group had pretty much never communicated with him before (granted, he hadn't given them any reason to) and it seemed unbelievable.

Then, something hit him. He had missed spanish? "Hope you are feeling better"? Was his crazy dream real?

_No way. It can't be_.

He looked down at himself. Instead of just his boxers, he was fully clothed in a uniform that actually fit him.

Scorpius started panicking. He didn't know what to do. Should he just keep living like usual? Breathing deeply, he reached up and undid his pony tail (which was awkwardly shorter and had to be tied higher up on his head). Singed hair settled around his lips and his pointed Malfoy chin, which was pimpled from hair contact, was visible. He grabbed his completely fixed messenger bag and his wand, tightened his tie, and slunk out of the room. He continued to stealthily sneak down the stairs, through the common room, and out of the nondescript door (made to resemble a broom closet). Glancing around quickly, he stayed in the shadows, creeping towards the Great Hall to try and grab some food before his first class…

"MALFOY! Why aren't you responding to my notes!" He jerked around to see Rose Weasley racing towards him like a lioness coming after its prey, the distance between them closing rapidly. She was right in front of him in justa few seconds and he gulped as he noted how big she was; nearly six foot with broad shoulders and visible arm muscles. Also, her breasts… He smacked himself. What was he thinking!?

"Malfoy, stop hitting yourself! Friends reply to other friends' messages! I stayed up waiting for you to reply since the ink turned red when you read my first one, but you ignored me…", she frowned at him.

Scorpius' mouth moved but he couldn't find any words. Rose Weasley watched him with curious eyes.

"Hey, you don't have to say anything. Just come with me for breakfast— I'm starving!" she grabbed his hand and tugged him towards the Great Hall, walking down the middle of the corridor rather than hugging the sides. He tried to pull away, but she was already dragging him (a bit forcefully) and he ducked his head awkwardly whenever they passed other students, who all waved to Rose and greeted her with smiles.

When they finally reached the Great Hall, Rose Weasley relinquished his hand, but the awkward clammy warmth didn't leave it. She headed over to her own table, giving him a wave and a grin and a "see you in class!". Immediately, her friends scooted over for her and she was surrounded by a sea of Ravenclaws, only recognizable by her striking red hair. Scorpius hurried to the Hufflepuff table and hastily grabbed a mini-baguette and a banana, a luxurious breakfast he could only enjoy at Hogwarts, and then left to eat outside the english classroom. He hugged the walls as he walked there while looking at his feet and clutching his food nervously. Every shuffling footstep he took seemed to ring loudly and shake the walls like a thunderclap. Every breath seemed like it would alert the whole world of his presence. Things had never been this way before, and it was terrifying.

After finishing his food, he entered the classroom and sat in his usual spot. He closed his eyes and…

"Hey! I was here first!"

"Weasley, that is MY seat!"

Scorpius blinked, peered through his hair, and then nearly had a heart attack. Rose Weasley and TJ Lee were fighting over the empty seat next to him!

TJ quickly plopped down beside him, ending the discussion. Scorpius didn't know if he should feel relieved or scared for his life. What if TJ beat him up because he had discovered his method for cutting class?!

"Miss Weasley, sit down! There's an extra seat next to Mr. Yaxley," ordered Professor Lee as she swept into the room, her long skirt whooshing like a robe. Scorpius couldn't help but watch as Rose Weasley reluctantly sit in the seat next to Quinn and glare at him, her hostility to her rival written on her face plain as day. Quinn, on the other hand, seemed to brighten, straightening up and smirking at her. No doubt they would squabble at least once in the class. Scorpius was about to turn away when Quinn Yaxley looked straight at him. He couldn't avert his gaze as the other boy glared at him before turning back to taunt Rose about her hair.

_What was that? _Scorpius shook his head slightly and then turned away, determined to continue as he normally would in class.

At the end of the class, Scorpius tried to run out while remaining inconspicuous, afraid of a conversation with TJ. He was out of luck, however, because TJ was right on his heels. He grabbed his arm and pulled him into a deserted corridor.

"Hey. Don't tell anybody. Its just math and bio. And I completed both on my own two years ago… Spill a word and you're going to wish you had never been born!" he hissed, his voice angry yet desperate and his grip tight on Scorpius' arm. Scorpius nodded mutely; he had no idea what to do so he just stood there until TJ dropped his arm, looking thoughtful (or at least as thoughtful as he could look). Then, all of a sudden, he was alone in the hallway, more confused than before.

* * *

><p>After lunch, Scorpius reluctantly made his way towards the gym adjacent to the quidditch pitch; he had physical education instead of dance that day. He was the last to arrive, and the professor, who was a short middle aged man built like the Incredible Hulk, handed him a uniform and told him to get changed in the Gryffindor quidditch locker room. Scorpius hurried into the locker room, which smelled like a mixture of febreeze and his grandmother's feet, carefully stripped off the nice uniform and folded it neatly, and then pulled on the black shorts and white shirt adorned with the Hogwarts emblem.<p>

After putting his clothing on an empty bench, he rushed out of the room and joined the other students.

"Okay, students. We're having our mandatory physical exams today and Thursday. Your eyesight, hearing, height, and weight will be checked today. Push ups, sit ups, mile-run, and pull-ups next class. Boys go back to the Gryffindor locker room, girls to Slytherin."

Scorpius waited in line behind the thirteen other boys in the class to get his hearing checked by an extremely serious mediwizard with clipped and punctuated speech. The man waved his wand once and then told him, "Very good". Another flick of the wand for his height: 5'6", and one last swish for his weight: 125 lbs. Then, Scorpius sat down to take the vision test.

"Young man, pull your hair back." Scorpius froze. He realized that none of his classmates had remained in the room. He slowly took the rubber band off his wrist and pulled his hair back, cringing and fighting the instinct to run. The mediwizard frowned at him and then waved his wand. Immediately, dirt and pus from the clogged pores and pimples dotting his face literally was sucked out and then levitated into the nearest trashcan. Scorpius winced, for this was painful, but also felt surprisingly refreshed (and grossed out by the disgusting blob). He felt his skin healing. Scorpius couldn't help but marvel at the mediwizard's skill; it was common knowledge that medical related magic was very complex and difficult.

"Those probably hurt. There were quite a few infections. I strongly suggest you pull your hair back and wash your face diligently. Now, I will allow you to put the eye cover on your right eye," the mediwizard handed him a grey plastic eye cover. There had yet to be a good magical vision test due to the sensitivity of the yet, for Scorpius recognized it as the same thing he had used in muggle elementary school during school eye exams. He also knew what the mediwizard would say. He got through the first 6 lines easily, struggled with the seventh, and then…

"Read line 8"

"Sir… I can't," Scorpius mumbled.

"Young man, I believe your eye sight is slightly impaired. You are nearsighted. I presume you knew this already?"

Scorpius nodded glumly, knowing that lying would only end badly.

"You should get glasses," the mediwizard looked at him pointedly, and Scorpius felt himself going red with awkward embarrassment.

"I'm okay. Please don't notify anybody… I don't want my parents to know," he asked in a voice that was a little bigger than his usual small one. He had always gotten out of this situation before, but his heart was pounding the way it did every time as he tried to think of an excuse.

After all, Scorpius had always had bad results on eye exams. He had never told his parents and he was adamant that they did not find out. They could barely scrape by as it was. Glasses were too expensive.

* * *

><p>Ack. Am I just writing plot and dialogue with no embellishment or moment building? Sometimes that's what it feels like… Anyway, that was my latest chapter. Yay for finally being productive!<p> 


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